


With a Full Heart

by gray_autumn_sky



Series: Set in S6 [5]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2017-07-05
Packaged: 2018-11-23 16:32:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11406249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gray_autumn_sky/pseuds/gray_autumn_sky
Summary: An AU in which Robin is alive, but Regina sent him and his children away to protect them from the Evil Queen; then, when the EQ left, Regina goes to bring them home.





	With a Full Heart

Regina lets out a shallow breath and her eyes close, her hands still shaking–and she can’t believe that it’s over, that it’s  _really_ over.

None of it went the way she thought it would. It’d gone awry from the start, exposing her worst fears and bringing them to life. But, perhaps, that’s what was necessary–necessary for her to look herself in the eye and be honest about who she was, to make herself finally choose rather than swaying between two opposing poles, and to finally accept the things she couldn’t change or wish away, to accept herself completely.

“There,” Henry says, tapping his pen on the page. “It’s done.”

“It is,” she breathes out, nodding as her eyes flutter open to see an illustration of the Evil Queen, her eyes soft and full hope as she opens the tavern door, ready to start a new life with Robin of Locksley. “I… I think they’ll be happy together, in their own way.”

“I do, too,” Henry decides, grinning down at the page of new storybook. “But, what about you?”

“What?” She asks, shifting her eyes up to her son. “What do you mean?”

“Robin,” he returns plainly. “ _Your_ Robin.”

A soft grin edges onto her lips, and she nods a little, thinking of the last time she saw him–remembering how angry he’d been with her. Perhaps, she thought, it wasn’t anger, perhaps it was more disappointment and frustration–but whatever it was, it hadn’t been enough to make them part on bad terms. They’d decided together that he should go, that he should take his children away from Storybrooke and away from Evil Queen. He hadn’t wanted to leave, but they hadn’t seen another way. The Queen was unpredictable and she seemed set on exacting revenge on the one who’d betrayed her most–on her counterpart who’d shoved her away and stifled her voice. And now, that they were separated, the Queen lacked the moral compass Regina had once provided, and there was no telling what she’d do or who would caught in the crossfire.

She’d tried to get Henry to go with them, but he’d flat out refused–and now, she was glad for it.

“You told him when it was over, when the Queen was gone, you’d find him,” he reminds her. “So, what are you waiting for.”

“It’s… not that easy, Henry,” she says, hesitating for a moment, not wanting to admit that she was worried that he wouldn’t want her–that he’ll have realize his life is more peaceful without the constant disruptions and upheavals, that his children are safer and happier in life where she is not. “I can’t just… pop over to the Enchanted Forest because I want to. I need… time to…” She watches as Henry’s eyes roll and he sighs, waiting for her to finish. “What?”

“You’re making excuses.”

“Portals don’t just appear,” she says flatly. “I can’t just…” A grin draws onto his lips as he twirls the Author’s Pen between his fingers. “Henry, there are  _rules_ to your role.”

“So?” He says too easily as his shoulders shrug. “Mom, every single rule to anything magical has exceptions. You can’t do this  _unless_ and you can’t do that  _except if_ …” He grins. “This is one of this things.  _This_ is an exception.” He turns the page in the book and grins. “It’s not fair that one half of you gets their happily ever after, and the other half doesn’t.”

“You’re my happily ever after,” she cuts in, watching as he dips the quill tipped pen into the ink. “Besides…”

“Mom,” he cuts in, his voice rising over hers as his eyes widen. “I miss them, too,” he says, his eyes softening as he smiles. “So, go and bring them home and… let us all be happy together.”

She hesitates for a moment and then nods, thinking of those few quiet moments between catastrophes when they’d simply been allowed to be. They’d done the most wonderfully mundane of things together–making dinner and reading bedtime stories, watching movies together and falling asleep on the couch, the sort of things that made her chest ache with envy for the times that had barely been.

“Okay,” she says, a nervous little grin edging onto her lips. “Okay, go ahead.”

Henry smiles and nods, his lip catching between his teeth as he thinks for a minute and then, just before the ink touches the paper, he wishes her luck.

Everything turns blurry, fading in and out as she moves between worlds–and when she settles, she finds herself in the middle of a darkened forest. She looks around, feeling dizzy as she tries to get her bearings and a sense of her surroundings, and for a moment she think that somehow Henry got it wrong–and then, she notices a flame in the distance.

Her heart beats a little faster as she steps toward it, watching as it grows bigger and clearer as she nears. She can see Robin sitting by the fire, staring at the flame. His face his blank and he’s alone, and for just a moment, she stands just out of view, watching him and wondering if it’s possible that he’s missing her as much as she’s missed him.

Taking a tentative step forward, she draws in a breath–and when takes her a second step, a branch cracks beneath her foot. The breath catches in her throat as Robin looks up, narrowing his eyes as he rises to his feet. His brow creases and he cranes his neck for a better look–and then, a smile explodes across his face at the sight of her.

“Regina…”

She smiles and nods, her eyes filling with tears as he moves quickly toward her–and when his arms wrap around her, holding her against his chest as his hand cups the back of his head, she feels herself melting into him. She holds him tightly, her fingers clenching at his cloak.

“I’ve missed you,” she manages to say, pressing herself closer to him and breathing him in. “I’ve missed you so, so much.”

“And I you,” he murmurs back, pressing a kiss to her temple before gently pushing her back. “I need to see you…”

Grinning through her tears, she nods. “I’m sorry…”

“Dont,” he cuts in. “Don’t apologize for… whatever you feel the need to apologize for. You’re here now and that’s what matter.” He pulls her back to him, holding her tightly as he presses another kiss to her, this time his warm lips finding her cheek. Turning her head, she catches his lips. She kisses him, letting all of the emotion she’d had to put aside for the past few weeks pour out of her–and he kisses her back, erasing any doubts she might of had about how he’d feel about seeing her again.

When they break the kiss, her cheeks flush and he reaches for her hand, leading her back to the fire. They sit down on a log and he stretches his arm around her shoulders, holding her to him–and for awhile, they just sit together, enjoying the closeness of the other.

“So, I suppose this means… the Queen is… gone?”

“Sort of,” she says, nodding as she lifts her head from his shoulder. “It’s… complicated.”

“It always is,” he tells her, chuckling softly. “Did you find a way to merge yourself, to make her a part of you again?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Then…”

She smiles a little and takes a breath. “I… had Henry write her a happy ending.” She laughs a little. “He created this whole little world for her where she could finally find happiness.” A soft little grin tugs up at the corner of his mouth, reminding her that he’d always had a soft spot for the Evil Queen, accepting her as she was and as a part of the woman he loved. “He, um… he even made sure she found love.”

“Love…” Robin repeats. “With who?”

“You,” she tells him, unable to stop the little laugh that bubbles up in her chest. “Or, a version of you… a darker version of you, the man you used to be.”

At that, he chuckles softly. “So, your darker side ran off with my darker side? How… fitting.”

“I thought so.”

Leaning in, he presses a kiss to her forehead. “You seem happy for them.”

“I am,” she admits. “And I hope that they really do find happiness together. She… deserves it.”

“You didn’t always think that.”

“No,” she agrees, sighing a little as she remembers all of the times she sabotaged herself, how relieved she’d felt when she’d injected herself with the serum and pulled the Evil Queen out of her, and she remembers how terrified she’d been to find out it hadn’t worked the way she’d thought it would, that Queen was still there, just outside of her and that the potential for darkness still loomed in her heart. “I didn’t. After everything she’s done–after everything I’ve done–happiness just didn’t seem fair.”

“But you’ve changed your mind.”

“Yes,” she says quietly. “I… I finally accepted her. I accepted  _me_.” Robin presses a kiss to her hair, hugging her a close to him. “I had the chance to stop her, to kill her and rid the world of her, but I didn’t take it.”

“No?”

“No, I split my heart in half, and gave it to her,” she tells him. “I gave her a second chance.”

“I’m glad,” he murmurs, pressing another kiss to her hair. “I’m so glad.”

“Are you?” She asks, pulling back to look at him, watching as his eyes shine even in the darkness. “Are you really? After…”

“Yes,” he cuts in. “I love you, Regina. I love  _all_ of you. Even the parts you might not have always loved yourself.” He grins as he leans in again to press soft, fluttering kiss to her lips. “And you know better than most that I am a believer in second chances.”

Smiling, she nods and lets her forehead falls against his. “I’ve missed you so much, did I tell you that?”

“You did, but I don’t mind hearing it again.”

“I’m sorry I pushed you away.”

Tipping up his chin, catches her bottom lip between his, sucking gently as a smile draws onto his lips. “You did what you had to do, and I did what I had to do–and now, that’s over.” His lips slide over her jaw and hand slips to her hip. “And now, we can move forward together.”

“Together…”

“Yes,” he murmurs against her skin just before pulling away. “I’ve only one concern.”

“Oh?”

“How… do we get home?”

She blinks at him for moment, unable to answer the question–and then she feels something in her pocket. A grin draws onto her lips as she reaches for it, pulling out a small bean. Holding it between her fingers she lifts it, feeling a little flicker of pride as she thinks of Henry and his magical quill. “A portal,” she says simply. “We’ll go home in the morning.”

“Home,” he breathes out. “Roland is going to be… beside himself. He’s missed you and Henry so much.”

She feels a little fluttering in her chest as she looks to a tent just beyond them. “I missed him, too–and Hannah.” A little grin tugs up from the corner of her mouth and her throat suddenly feels tight. “She must be getting so big.”

Robin nods and his fingers press into her hip. “We can finally be a family.”

“A family,” she repeats, her voice catching as she looks back to him. “My happy ending.”

“ _Our_ happy ending,” he tells her, tugging her up and leading her to tent, her heart feeling happy and full.


End file.
